Chronic illness and disability are ongoing conditions for elders today. Currently, over one and one-half million people reside in long term care facilities. This number is expected to more than double in the next 40 years. Social trends, such as smaller families, elders who live long distances from their families, and increasing numbers of women who work outside the home, create fewer family caregivers available for infirm elders. Since many individuals ill be institutionalized for a number of years, promoting their highest possible functional level by deterring the onset and disabling effects of chronic disease will logically lighten the burden of care, lower the cost of care, and increase the quality of life. While the primary focus of health promotion and disease prevention has been in community populations, this need also exists in long term care facilities. The purpose of this study is to document healthy lifestyle behaviors engaged in by residents in long term care facilities, and to describe the personal and contextual influences that are related to healthy behaviors practiced by long term care residents. The specific aims are: Aim I, Delineate the health-promoting lifestyle behaviors practiced by older residents in long term care facilities; Aim 2, Determine the separate and combined contributions of selected personal and contextual variables in explaining health promoting lifestyle among older residents in long term care facilities; and Aim 3, Describe perceptions of older residents of long term care facilities about opportunities to practice health promoting behaviors and barriers to practicing those behaviors. A random sample of 180 cognitively intact residents over age 65 and 90 staff members who are directly involved in their care will be asked to respond to a series of questionnaires that ascertain definitions of health, health promoting behaviors, and demographic data. In addition, residents will complete questionnaires about functional status, perceived control of health, and how well they are able to carry out healthy lifestyle behaviors in the nursing home. Descriptive summary statistics and contextual multiple regression will be used to test the aims of the study. The findings of this study will be used to develop intervention studies related to health promotion in long term care.